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  <title>BBC NEWS | Health | Vitamin C 'slows cancer growth'</title>
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  Vitamin C 'slows cancer growth'
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      An injection of a high dose of vitamin C may be able to hold back the advance of cancers, US scientists claim.
    	  
  	
    
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The vitamin may start a destructive chain reaction within the cancer cell, they add.

    	  
  	
    
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The jab halved the size of brain, ovarian and pancreatic tumours in mice, reported the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    	  
  	
    
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However, Cancer Research UK said other studies suggested large vitamin C doses may interfere with cancer treatment.

    	  
  	
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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      This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves cells grown in the lab and mice
    	  
  	
    
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      Dr Alison Ross
    	  
  	
    
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      Cancer Research UK
    	  
  	
    
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Earlier research by the team at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland had suggested that the vitamin, also called ascorbate, could kill cancer cells in the laboratory.

    	  
  	
    
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After these successful tests in mice, they are now suggesting that the treatment be considered for human use at similar levels.

    	  
  	
    
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The dose they employed - up to four grams per kilo of bodyweight - was far greater than any that could be achieved using diet or vitamin pills, as the digestive system does not absorb more than a fixed amount taken orally.

    	  
  	
    
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The mice were bred to have malfunctioning immune systems, then injected with human cancer cells, which as a result, grew quickly into large tumours. The vitamin was then injected into their abdominal cavity.

    	  
  	
    
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Tumour growth and weight fell by between 41% and 53%, and while in untreated mice, the disease spread rapidly to involve other body parts, no such spread was seen in the vitamin C-treated animals.

    	  
  	
    
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The researchers wrote: "These pre-clinical data provide the first firm basis for advancing pharmacologic ascorbate in cancer treatment in humans."

    	  
  	
    
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The treatment works because a tumour cell is chemically different to a healthy cell. 

    	  
  	
    
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The vitamin C reacts with this chemical make-up, producing enough hydrogen peroxide to kill the cell, while leaving healthy cells unscathed.

    	  
  	
    
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However, Dr Alison Ross, from Cancer Research UK said that much more work would have to be done to see if vitamin C could be a viable treatment.

    	  
  	
    
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"This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves cells grown in the lab and mice.

    	  
  	
    
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"There is currently no evidence from clinical trials in humans that injecting or consuming vitamin C is an effective way to treat cancer. 

    	  
  	
    
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"Some research even suggests that high doses of antioxidants can make cancer treatment less effective, reducing the benefits of radiotherapy and chemotherapy."
    	  
  	
  
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Story from BBC NEWS:<br>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7540822.stm<br>
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Published: 2008/08/04 23:03:16 GMT<br>
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